Fact Sheet
Destination: Venus
The five spacecraft that made up the Pioneer Venus Multiprobe mission plunge toward the planet's atmosphere in this artist's conception. The mission included a "bus" (the large craft at lower right) that carried the four smaller probes. The probes parachuted through Venus' hot, dense atmosphere on December 9, 1978, providing the most detailed readings on atmospheric conditions to date. The Pioneer Venus mission also included an orbiter (not shown here) which entered orbit 25 years ago this week and operated for 14 years.
[Credit: NASA]
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